Sanctuarium
by Vetti
Summary: [HIATUS] Zero finds himself surrounded by a group of strangers in an unfamiliar place with no recollection of past events leading to his current predicament. [Kaname x Zero]


"Zero," a velvety voice whispered; two syllables spoken in a dulcet tone gliding through someone's tongue like honey: a saccharine treat for the auditory senses.

A repetition of the same name echoed through walls of an unfamiliar setting as darkness spread through the silverette's vision, as if his sight had completely been taken away by the owner of the voice. Another repetition of his name echoed through the canals of his ears before a low whisper followed, "Wake up."

Zero bolted up from his position like clockwork. His senses have become more sensitized than the setting in his dream like state: His vision, more vivid than he last remembered it as.

"You're awake."

Zero's attention was pivoted to the owner of the voice. He couldn't help but compare the stark difference between the timbre of the other man's voice and that of his dream.

"Come with me."

Zero surveyed his surroundings and was greeted with a lavish room filled with expensive-looking furniture and tasteful decorative ornaments. The other man with him sighed and remarked, "We're all clueless on why we ended up here. Just follow me and we'll figure out how to get out of this mess."

"We?"

His rustic haired companion nodded, "Yes. There are three other people in the living room, and we're all actually just waiting on you to wake up."

"How long have I…we been here?"

"Just…follow me. It would be less troublesome."

Zero nodded, despite knowing that the rustic-haired man wouldn't be able to see the nuance of understanding. The silverette followed his companion without spiking up any conversation, still wary of the strange situation they've been put into.

"Kain," the other man muttered, "Akatsuki Kain."

Zero was confused for a moment before he had eventually come to the understanding that it was his companion's name so he offered his own, "Kiryu…uh…Zero."

Kain ceased his steps and looked back at the unsuspecting silverette who had done the same, "Your name is familiar...but I don't understand why."

"Uh, I hope I could say the same for you…but I'm a blank slate. Sorry."

Kain shook his head, "No. I'm sorry. We're almost there."

The pair eventually found themselves in a large room filled with intricate designs and a long circular divan at the center of the room. The walls were littered with paintings on canvas, but no photographs or anything that would show signs of someone living there before they found themselves into this mansion. However, the place appeared unnaturally pristine for anyone to claim that this was an abandoned manor.

After a few moments of just standing at the corner of the room, a blonde man from the group staying in the lounge had noticed them and waved, "And the sleeping beauty is finally awake!"

A dark-haired man seated at the one corner of the divan with his legs crossed darted a glare at the blonde man and told the light-haired man off, "shut up."

"Rude."

Someone else from the group intervened. It was a light-haired man who was all smiles, "Now, now. Let's not fight over this. We have a lot to talk about."

The other blonde man bat out, "like how we're all gonna die from starvation in this mansion from nowhere."

"How dumb," the same dark-haired occupant had voiced out.

The more expressive blonde man was about to retort to the seemingly uncaring individual when Zero heard the rustic haired man's familiar voice speaking in a warning tone, "Aidou."

"I can't help it, okay! We're in a goddamn mansion in the middle of nowhere. No one knows how anyone got here. The doors are locked, the windows are barred, and we're left here to starve until we all turn into cannibals and eat each other. We're at the center of a horror junkie's wet dream."

Zero started walking to the center of the room because like the other blonde person who was not "Aidou" said, there's still plenty to talk about. While walking towards the group, the light-haired man had pointed at Zero, "You!"

Zero pointed at himself, "Me?"

"Yeah, you! Are you a virgin?"

Zero could practically hear the distinctive sound of someone behind him palming his face, and a familiar quiet voice commenting in an insulting manner, "The art of subtlety is dead."

"No, I mean…following horror movie rules: the virgin stays alive, right?"

"This isn't a horror movie and we're not gonna be stuck here forever, dumbass. Now, take a seat and we can talk this through."

Once the two recent occupants of the room had taken a seat, Takuma started the discussion, "well since everyone is finally here. It's best that we start with introductions. I know no one's gonna want to start, so I'll initiate."

Zero intervened, "wait, no one here actually knows each other?"

Takuma pressed his lips and responded, "Well, it's not much of a notable pattern but some of us know each other. I know Shiki because we were family friends. Aidou knows Kain as a distant relative…and well, Kaname is Shiki's cousin while we went to the same school together….but,"

Shiki added to the statement, "no one knows you."

With that, everyone pivoted their attention at Zero's direction. That's when Zero noticed a strong presence that he didn't observe earlier. Right at the corner of the couch, a few spaces away from the happy light haired man was another dark-haired man with similar features as the shorter one.

Takuma cut the tension and started, "Well, alright. That's not the problem here right now. Let's just introduce ourselves first, and what was the last memory you remember. I'm Takuma Ichijou and…the last thing I could remember is looking over documents in my office after a major operation on an emergency room patient."

"I'm Aidou Hanabusa. I was having dinner with my family after a long time and…that's it."

"Shiki Senri. I was writing an article."

"I'm Kain Akatsuki, and I was just talking to a superior about some undisclosed case."

Zero darted his attention to the dark-haired man who hadn't spoken a word until now, "I'm Kaname Kuran. The last thing I remember is…attending a gala with my fiancé."

Something in Zero snapped when he heard the wine-haired man's voice, as if there was some form of incomprehensible recognition. He eventually stopped thinking about the peculiar thought and spoke for his own, "I'm Zero Kiryu and…I," Zero furrowed his brows at the realization that he couldn't retrieve anything from his memory, "I…"

"Did you kill someone?" Aidou offhandedly requested, earning another disapproving look from Kain.

Zero shook his head, "I don't remember anything."

Takuma offered, "Nothing?"

Zero shook his head once more, "No. I _do_ remember something…but it seems too distant of a memory to be recent…and it doesn't explain why I'm here at all."

Shiki responded, "None of our last recalls explains why we're here so what's new."

"No, I mean…why I'm still alive? The last memory I could recall is boarding a hi-jacked plane while we were already falling," Zero took a sharp breath as if reliving the memory. Kain had looked at the silverette with a concerned gaze but the light-haired man followed his statement with a date, "December 20, 2015"

"What?"

"The plane ride. The ticket…it was that day."

"But it's already past January."

"I remembered sometime along the days of February."

"So, we all remember memories that are months apart? Doesn't that just make things more complicated?"

"Could it be that the world outside is at its post-apocalyptic stage!?" Aidou ground out expressively, earning another incomprehensible insult from Shiki.

Zero bat off, "I doubt it. If my memories blacked out after December while others still had months to remember after the plane crash then it would've been likely that we've just been pulled away from our mundane lifestyles."

"So, what's the plan?"

"Not dying."

* * *

"You've been staring at me ever since they told us to check the kitchen out."

That awfully familiar voice replied, "I've been staring at you even before that."

"That's not creepy at all," Zero retorted and rolled his eyes.

They were already at the kitchen and from Zero's observation, the equipment inside the room appeared to be untouched, just as pristine as the entire house. Zero walked over inside the small space in between the appliances as he opened shelves upon shelves of properly stocked food. The silverette turned back to the dark-haired man, only to find the latter still staring at him with unequivocal attention.

"Can you stop staring at me!?" Zero yelled at the taller wine-haired man.

Kaname seemed to be put out of his trance as he shook his head, "I'm sorry but you really look like my fiancé."

Zero's temper cooled at the explanation, and feelings of vexation had slowly morphed into guilt, "Ah, I'm sorry…Uh, when was that gala that you said you last remembered?"

"March; and I'm sorry if this makes you feel uneasy around me but you remind me of him sometimes."

Zero's interest was piqued up at the common referral, "Him?"

Kaname nodded and kept quiet, and Zero mirrored the same notion until he realized how his reaction may appear wrong to the dark-haired man, "I mean, I'm not a homophobe or anything but it's just unusual and all…yeah, I'm sorry for making you feel bad or anything."

Kaname chuckles at the silverette's nervous response. He shakes his head, "It's alright. Distance does make the heart grow fonder."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well, we had a fight that night and now, I just really want to see him again…and I probably sometimes do with you because you look so much like him. I'm sorry again."

Zero nods and laughs awkwardly, patting the dark-haired man at the back, "It's alright. What's his name?"

Kaname opens his mouth to respond to the question but no familiar syllables come out. He closes his mouth shut and grits his teeth before responding after a moment of contemplation, "I don't remember."

"I'm sorry."

* * *

I'm actually relatively more invested in this idea compared to the other fics I've posted. Nonetheless, what do you think? Tell me in a review and see y'all soon.


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